Psalm 60 - You Have Rejected Us

TEXT

1. For the leader; on Shushan Eduth.1 A michtam.1 Of David. For teaching.

2. When he fought against Aram-Naharaim and Aram-Tsovah, and Joab returned and smote Edom in the Valley of Salt—twelve thousand!

3. O God, You have rejected us, You have broken us open; You have been angry. Turn back from us2!

4. You have made the land quake; You have torn it apart. Mend its breaches, for it shakes.

5. You have shown Your people harshness; You have made us drink poisoned wine.

6. 3-You have left those who fear You with a hanging banner to face the archers.-3    Selah.

7. So that Your loved ones might be rescued, deliver with Your right hand and answer me.

8. God promised in His sanctuary4: 5-“I shall exultingly divide up Shechem, and portion out the Valley of Sukkoth;

9. Mine is Gilead and Mine is Manasheh; Ephraim My leading stronghold, Judah My scepter;

10. Moab is My washbasin; on Edom I throw My shoe. 6-Shout to Me in joy, O Philistia!”-6 -5

11. Who will take me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?

12. For this is You, God, You have rejected us. You do not march, God, with our armies.

13. Grant us aid against the foe, for the deliverance through man is hopeless.

14. With God we shall do valiantly, and He will trample our foes.

Notes

1. Meaning of Hebrew uncertain.

2. Others, “Restore us!”

3. This translation, based on Tur Sinai, sees this verse as a continuation of those before, the prayer to begin only in the next verse, after “selah.” Others begin the prayer with v. 6, e.g., “Give those who fear You a banner to be unfurled against the bow.”

4. Or, “in His holiness.”

5. All of vv. 8-10 can also be read as an indirect quote, a promise to the king, with all first-person references to him: “God promised in His sanctuary that I shall, etc.”

6. Psalm 108, in a parallel section, here reads, “Over Philistia I shout in joy”

　

COMMENTARY

Explanations

Psalm 60, which deals with the challenge of a battle lost, is filled with historical and geographical references that require elucidation. I first clarify the references in verses 8–10, and only later comment on the ascription.

The first three place references – Shechem is a major pre-Israelite city in the mountains north of Jerusalem that is associated with various biblical stories. Sukkot is in Transjordan (east of the Jordan River). Gilead is the area further north in Transjordan. All three are mentioned in connection with Jacob’s return to Israel from Mesopotamia (Gen. 31:21; 33:17, 18). The three are listed in the psalm from the center of Israel outward, in the reverse order of Jacob’s trip.

The three tribes - Manasseh and Ephraim (sons of Joseph) are the two tribes that formed the core of the northern part of the Land of Israel. (Half the tribe of Manasseh, however, settled in Transjordan, and hence it is a geographic parallel to the preceding term, Gilead.) Judah was the leading tribe in the south. After King Solomon, Israel was split between north and south, the descendants of David and Solomon ruling only over the south.

The enemies – There are three references to Israel’s enemies, Moab to the southeast of Jerusalem, Edom to their south, and Philistia on the southwest coast, in David’s time and before.

Note that the first three references lead from inside Israel out; the second three, all within Israel, lead toward Jerusalem; and the third three surround the southern part of Israel.

Historically, all of these territories were under Israelite control only in the time of David and Solomon; David did defeat Philistia, Moab, and Edom (II Sam. 8:1, 2, 13f.). The northern tribes were part of the Davidic kingdom only at that time, so the oracle from God could only refer to the days of the United Kingdom (befitting the attribution of the psalm to David).

In terms of difficult phrases, the “fortified city” (v. 11) is probably a major settlement in Edom (the term here could mean “a place previously besieged,” though the parallel in Psalm 108 can only mean “fortified city”), identified by many as biblical Botsrah (Gen. 33:36), which in turn some (not all) suggest is modern Petra.

“Washbasin” (v. 10) is a derogatory term, possibly with a physical reference, since the territory of Moab descends into the Dead Sea. “Throw my shoe” (v. 10), also clearly derogatory, is less clear, possibly indicating a place one would throw filthy items or picturing a servant cleaning up after a master.

As a Psalm in the Time of David

Historically, the ascription (v. 2) also can be understood within the framework of other biblical references. David fought both Aram-Naharaim and Aram-Tsovah (II Sam. 8:3–6, 12; 10:6–19, considering I Chron. 19:6), and although there are significant differences with the two biblical accounts of the battle in the Valley of Salt (II Sam. 8: 13f., I Chron. 18:12—only victories are mentioned there, and the loss to the enemy loss is set at 18,000), these can be explained away as complementary sources of information or parallel traditions.

Psalm 60 is clear in its concentration and challenging in its structure. The subject is echoed in the one-word enclosure: “rejected.” Those who trusted in God were disappointed. The movement back and forth between first-person singular and plural befits the words of a king, who represents his people.

Either because defeats were rare or because kings rarely record them, the historical books include none such in the time of David. Psalm 60 allows the reader access to reaction to defeat.

Two chiasms are helpful in elucidating the text.

Through verse 12 the text is structured, by content (not terminology) as a chiasm: (a) God’s abandonment (vv. 3–6); (b) a prayer (v. 7); (c) the oracle from God (vv. 8–10); (b1) a wish (v. 11 – parallel to the prayer); and (a1) God’s abandonment (v. 12). There seem to be several implications here. First, the oracle is central. The speaker is sure he hears or has heard the word of God. God is accessible. The oracle is the rock around which all else revolves. Neither the fact nor the content of the communication is challenged.

Preceding the oracle is a record of abandonment and a prayer. Verses 3–10 read alone present a natural progression: the sense of abandonment is followed by prayer, which is then followed by a direct communication from God, a message of reassurance.

The chiasm, however, reverses the entire tone, for after reassurance comes further “hope’ (not even a prayer!), and this is then followed by the renewed suggestion of God’s abandonment! This circular effect, while leaving the oracle as the unchallenged word of God, is by implication an expression of tremendous confusion, bordering on accusation. God spoke, but the speaker is neither calmed nor reassured. On the contrary—the second request is not even spoken to God but rests on the heavy phrase “Who will…?” Here lies the fascination of this psalm, and perhaps of psalms in general. There is no doubt that God speaks. The problem is in the lack of connection between God’s word and what actually transpires.

As often in Psalms, the psalm returns to prayer at the end (vv. 13 and 14). That concluding section is also a chiasm: the foes are mentioned in the two outside phrases, whereas man is set against God in the middle—and only God is found to be a true hope. Perhaps this is the secret of the paradox noted above. However great the challenge to God’s reliability, one knows that man is a much less reliable support. This is a fairly dismal conclusion to a psalm, but it is one written against the background of a loss that the speaker blames on God. Later readers must wonder how much of their own faith might be based on the simple fact that man is of lesser reliability.

As a Psalm Later Cited

A second appreciation of Psalm 60 derives from its possible later use. If one assumes that the historical attribution at the beginning of the psalm (as so often in Psalms) was added well after the original writing (though again, that is not indicated by the content), then one wonders if there was a purposely added second term of inclusion, namely, “Edom” (vv. 2, 11). Edom was a major power to the southwest of Israel, and relations remained stormy over almost 1000 years, with several wars on record. One might well understand that at some time much later than David, on the occasion of loss of a battle to Edom, one would find comfort in a similar but temporary early loss during David’s kingship. This would alter the effect of the last two lines in an ironic way. Read as referring to David’s time only, the poem ends with a tone of uncertain hope. In later days, a reading would be based on the knowledge of David’s ultimate conquest of Edom, therein offering firm reassurance. Indeed, in verse 13 there is a play on the word “Edom” in the term “man” (adam)—on whom one cannot depend.

Dual Causality

There is another interesting aspect to part of Psalm 60. The oracle (vv. 8–10) can be read in two ways (see note 5), relating to the coming victory of God or that of the king. One should again assume that the poet saw both possible readings and purposely left the ambiguity. This is another example of the biblical dual-track causality in history, with its frequent blurring of lines of credit between God and the king.

　

The author of these essays is Rabbi Benjamin Segal, former president of the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem　and author of The Song of Songs: A Woman in Love (Jerusalem: Gefen, 2009). This material is copyright by the author, and may not be reproduced. If you are interested in using the texts for study groups, please be in direct contact with the author, at psalmblog@gmail.com.

HEBREW TEXT

(א) לַמְנַצֵּחַ עַל שׁוּשַׁן עֵדוּת מִכְתָּם לְדָוִד לְלַמֵּד:

(ב) בְּהַצּוֹתוֹ אֶת אֲרַם נַהֲרַיִם וְאֶת אֲרַם צוֹבָה וַיָּשָׁב יוֹאָב וַיַּךְ אֶת אֱדוֹם בְּגֵיא מֶלַח שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר אָלֶף:

(ג) אֱלֹהִים זְנַחְתָּנוּ פְרַצְתָּנוּ אָנַפְתָּ תְּשׁוֹבֵב לָנוּ:

(ד) הִרְעַשְׁתָּה אֶרֶץ פְּצַמְתָּהּ רְפָה שְׁבָרֶיהָ כִי מָטָה:

(ה) הִרְאִיתָ עַמְּךָ קָשָׁה הִשְׁקִיתָנוּ יַיִן תַּרְעֵלָה:

(ו) נָתַתָּה לִּירֵאֶיךָ נֵּס לְהִתְנוֹסֵס מִפְּנֵי קֹשֶׁט סֶלָה:

(ז) לְמַעַן יֵחָלְצוּן יְדִידֶיךָ הוֹשִׁיעָה יְמִינְךָ ועננו {וַעֲנֵנִי}:

(ח) אֱלֹהִים דִּבֶּר בְּקָדְשׁוֹ אֶעְלֹזָה אֲחַלְּקָה שְׁכֶם וְעֵמֶק סֻכּוֹת אֲמַדֵּד:

(ט) לִי גִלְעָד וְלִי מְנַשֶּׁה וְאֶפְרַיִם מָעוֹז רֹאשִׁי יְהוּדָה מְחֹקְקִי:

(י) מוֹאָב סִיר רַחְצִי עַל אֱדוֹם אַשְׁלִיךְ נַעֲלִי עָלַי פְּלֶשֶׁת הִתְרוֹעָעִי:

(יא) מִי יוֹבִלֵנִי עִיר מָצוֹר מִי נָחַנִי עַד אֱדוֹם:

(יב) הֲלֹא אַתָּה אֱלֹהִים זְנַחְתָּנוּ וְלֹא תֵצֵא אֱלֹהִים בְּצִבְאוֹתֵינוּ:

(יג) הָבָה לָּנוּ עֶזְרָת מִצָּר וְשָׁוְא תְּשׁוּעַת אָדָם:

(יד) בֵּאלֹהִים נַעֲשֶׂה חָיִל וְהוּא יָבוּס צָרֵינוּ: